Caprese Salad or Insalata Caprese is a very simple salad from Italy consisting of fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil and olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I think the beauty of this salad is its simplicity and the fact that it consists of the Italian flag colors. Different versions of it include using balsamic vinegar and that’s what I chose to do with mine today.
I love this salad, and we make it almost every night of the week because of how simple it is. We use fresh bocconcini for it and if you’ve never had bocconcini, all it is is small pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese. We also tried something different this time, I say we because it was my husband’s idea to do this and he’s the salad king at our house. We tried a balsamic reduction instead of just plain old balsamic vinegar. I think it was a great idea, mostly because it looks better and if you’re making this for a party I strongly recommend using a balsamic reduction instead.
A balsamic reduction all it is is just cooking the balsamic vinegar for a while and it will reduce to less than half and thicken in the process, so the flavor is more concentrated.
One more thing I want to say about this caprese salad, isn’t this the cutest presentation you’ve ever seen? I mean how adorable and perfect is this for an appetizer at a party?
It’s brilliant! I know, you’ll impress everyone!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups mini bocconcini pieces
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- a bunch of fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- toothpics
Instructions:
- In a small skillet add the balsamic vinegar and cook over medium heat until it reduced to less than half and thickened. Make sure you stir occasionally. It should only take about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the amount you're reducing.
- Take a toothpick and on it stick a bocconcini, a basil leaf and a cherry tomato. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Using a teaspoon drizzle some of the balsamic reduction onto each appetizer.
Enjoy!
Could these been made the night before and refrigerated? I’m unsure of how well this would keep.
I think they’d be ok, though I wouldn’t drizzle the balsamic on them until served.
I have added these to my Mouth Watering Mondays post to bring in the New Year!! Come on over to have a look at http://www.noshingwiththenolands.com Happy New Year, Cheers Tara
I love your presentation, but how do you get them to stand up right? Where did you buy your skewers? (perhaps that’s where I’m going wrong. ?)
Haha, it’s not a trick I swear, all you have to do is cut the bottom of the tomato off so that it’s flat and can stand, it doesn’t matter what skewers you use, toothpicks would work just as well. Good luck.
I’m always looking for a dish for parties that makes a nice presentation, and this one is perfect!
I’m in love with the simple combination of mozzarella and tomato, and I love the way you presented it. This would be the perfect appetizer for a get-together!
And impressive too, eh? Yeah mozzarella and tomatoes are one of my favorite snacks.